Bird's eye view of a green forest in the Amazon rainforest
Observances, Natural Resources and the Environment

Forests and Innovation

On the International Day of Forests (21 March), we recognize the transformative impact of innovation and technology on forest monitoring, enhancing tracking and reporting capabilities for countries. With 10 million hectares lost yearly to deforestation and 70 million hectares affected by fires, combating deforestation demands new technological advancements. These are crucial for early warning systems, sustainable commodity production, and empowering Indigenous Peoples. Join the Day's celebration and engage in the conversation on social media using the #ForestDay hashtag and the promotional materials.

Restoring and sustainably managing forests are critical pathways to meet the 2030 global goals.
Photo:Adobe Stock/Curioso.Photography
Millions of people have been forced to flee their homes in Sudan due to the ongoing conflict.

Conflict driving hunger crisis in Sudan, UN officials tell Security Council

20 March 2024 — Eleven months of brutal fighting is driving a hunger crisis in Sudan, with some areas likely to experience catastrophic levels of food insecurity by the lean season in May, the UN...

Children in the Gaza Strip receive food as supplies continue to dwindle.

Gaza: Less than 1 in 2 UN aid missions allowed into northern zones this month

20 March 2024 — Less than half of the UN aid convoys planned for Gaza’s hunger-ravaged north have made it so far this month, despite repeated appeals from the international community to ramp up...

Rising sea levels are causing the regular flooding of homes in Bangladesh.

Records smashed – new WMO climate report confirms 2023 hottest so far

19 March 2024 — Records were once again broken for greenhouse gas levels, surface temperatures, ocean heat and acidification, sea level rise, ice cover and glacier retreat, a new global report...

UN Sustainable Development Goals

17 Goals to transform our world

The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries — poor, rich and middle-income — to promote prosperity while protecting the planet.

Thomas the Tank engine

Student Resources on the SDGs

Learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals! On our student resources page you will find plenty of materials for young people and adults alike. Share with your family and friends to help achieve a better world for all.

children holding up books

SDG Book Club

Reading and learning are essential to children’s growth and development; stories can fuel their imagination and raise awareness of new possibilities. The SDG Book Club aims to encourage them to learn about the Goals in a fun, engaging way, empowering them to make a difference.

Act Now

ActNow Campaign

ActNow is the United Nations campaign to inspire people to act for the Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs can improve life for all of us and everyone can join the global movement for change. To log your actions, download the app.

Goal of the Month

 
Gender Equality

 

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

More about the UN Sustainable Development Goals

More from the
United Nations

Featured stories from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.

A group of young people pose for the camera in a friendly attitude. OHCHR, Racism and Xenophobia

Reflections on the road to equality

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed on 21 March to combat racism and eliminate all forms of racial bias. This year’s theme focuses on “A Decade of Recognition, Justice, and Development: Implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent”. Martha Liliana Meza Castillo, a Colombian Black woman, sociologist, journalist, and human rights activist, promoted the International Decade to inform Afro-descendants about their rights and how they could be useful to them. Meza Castillo believes that the International Decade inspired the inclusion of an ethnic chapter in the negotiation of the peace accords in Colombia.

A man interacting with a robot in a shopping mall. UNCTAD, Science and Technology, Trade and Commerce

How to make artificial intelligence work better for consumers and society

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is calling for more awareness raising and regulatory frameworks to ensure AI benefits everyone. While AI holds promise for personalizing products and services and optimizing customer support, there are concerns over fair, responsible and ethical use of AI. Currently, global tech giants control most of the data flows and revenues from digital services, posing a threat to fair competition and aggravating existing technology divides. Public policies need to guide innovation and the design of AI to mitigate human biases and ensure that AI-powered goods and services reach vulnerable populations.

A group of indigenous people using a tablet to check information about the forest. FAO, Indigenous Peoples, Natural Resources and the Environment

Protecting ancient forests in Papua New Guinea by innovating tradition

The AIM4Forests programme, launched by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UK government, aims to provide countries with technological means to combat deforestation and actively involve Indigenous Peoples in forest monitoring. The programme has already begun implementation in 11 countries, including Papua New Guinea, where it combines modern technology with traditional knowledge to halt deforestation and restore degraded land. Custodians like Besta Pulum can now monitor their forest area using high-resolution satellite imagery and Open Foris Ground, a tool that allows them to demarcate their forest and monitor it using Google Earth.

Agriculture and Food, IFAD

Women + investment = exponential returns

Investing in women in agriculture is the surest path to prosperity and food security, empowering communities and fostering a sustainable future.

Climate Change, UNESCO

Addressing gender equality and climate change

Empowering women in environmental initiatives is essential for addressing climate change, as their participation fosters innovative solutions for a more sustainable future.

Economic Development, UNDP

Empowering women through Yemeni coffee

Amira's coffee cupping initiative in Yemen not only preserves the nation's rich coffee heritage but also empowers women to become integral players in enhancing the industry's quality, economic growth, and global recognition.

Food, UNCTAD

Trends in processed foods trade

UNCTAD and WHO introduce a novel framework unveiling trends and health implications of processed food trade, crucial for promoting nutritious diets and enhancing food security worldwide.

What we do

Due to the powers vested in its Charter and its unique international character, the United Nations can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, including:

A child has a meal at a food distribution centre in the Rwanda camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), near Tawila, North Darfur. More than 8,000 women and children living in the camp benefit from nutrition programmes run by the World Food Programme

Deliver Humanitarian Aid

Grace, a farmer from Kipilat village, and a leading member of the forest community in Ainabkoi, Kenya, planting a tree in 2012.

Promote Sustainable Development

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivers its order on the request for the indication of provisional measures filed by Nicaragua on 11 October 2013 in the case concerning Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River.

Uphold International Law

A UNIFIL peacekeeper from Spain on a regular patrol in the vicinity of Al Wazzani, south-eastern Lebanon as the sun sets in the horizon. Since 1948, more than a million women and men have served as UN peacekeepers.

Maintain International Peace and Security

Students at Butkhak High School in Kabul, Afghanistan, cheer in unison on the last day of Global Action Week, an international campaign advocating free, quality education for all.

Protect Human Rights

A child has a meal at a food distribution centre in the Rwanda camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), near Tawila, North Darfur. More than 8,000 women and children living in the camp benefit from nutrition programmes run by the World Food Programme

Deliver Humanitarian Aid

Grace, a farmer from Kipilat village, and a leading member of the forest community in Ainabkoi, Kenya, planting a tree in 2012.

Promote Sustainable Development

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivers its order on the request for the indication of provisional measures filed by Nicaragua on 11 October 2013 in the case concerning Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River.

Uphold International Law

A UNIFIL peacekeeper from Spain on a regular patrol in the vicinity of Al Wazzani, south-eastern Lebanon as the sun sets in the horizon. Since 1948, more than a million women and men have served as UN peacekeepers.

Maintain International Peace and Security

Students at Butkhak High School in Kabul, Afghanistan, cheer in unison on the last day of Global Action Week, an international campaign advocating free, quality education for all.

Protect Human Rights

A child has a meal at a food distribution centre in the Rwanda camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), near Tawila, North Darfur. More than 8,000 women and children living in the camp benefit from nutrition programmes run by the World Food Programme

Deliver Humanitarian Aid

Structure of the
United Nations

The main parts of the UN structure are the General Assembly, the
Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat. All were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.

General Assembly

The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN. All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in the General Assembly, making it the only UN body with universal representation.

Security Council

The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the UN Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members (5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members). Each Member has one vote. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.

Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as implementation of internationally agreed development goals.

Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the UN Charter, under Chapter XIII, to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories that had been placed under the administration of seven Member States, and ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-government and independence.

International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its seat is at the Peace Palace in the Hague (Netherlands). It is the only one of the six principal organs of the United Nations not located in New York (United States of America).

Secretariat

The Secretariat comprises the Secretary-General and tens of thousands of international UN staff members who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as mandated by the General Assembly and the Organization's other principal organs.

More about the structure of the United Nations

Learn more

Climate Change

Climate change is the defining issue of our time and now is the defining moment to do something about it. There is still time to tackle climate change, but it will require an unprecedented effort from all sectors of society.

Women at UN CSW63 Side Event - “Take the Hot Seat”. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

Gender Equality

Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and, therefore, also half of its potential. Gender equality, besides being a fundamental human right, is essential to achieve peaceful societies, with full human potential and sustainable development.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is greeted on his visit to the Central African Republic

Ending Poverty

While global poverty rates have been cut by more than half since 2000, one in ten people in developing regions still lives on less than US$1.90 a day — the internationally agreed poverty line, and millions of others live on slightly more than this daily amount.

A young girl holds a smiling infant at the Zaatari Refugee Camp

Our Common Agenda

Following up on a pledge made by UN Member States at the UN’s 75th anniversary, the report Our Common Agenda looks ahead to the next 25 years and represents the Secretary-General’s vision on the future of global cooperation. It calls for inclusive, networked, and effective multilateralism to better respond to humanity’s most pressing challenges.

Watch and Listen

Video and audio from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Liam Neeson on what children in Gaza need most

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Liam Neeson is urging for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, emphasizing the critical need to address children's urgent needs. Neeson highlights protection, safe access to life-saving supplies and services, and uninterrupted funding as essential elements in this endeavor. Expressing deep concern over the devastating toll on children's lives amidst the ongoing conflict, Neeson stresses the urgency of ending the fighting to mitigate the humanitarian catastrophe.

Gender equal economies

Women are paid less than men in the same jobs; they do most of the unpaid household and care work and often have difficulty accessing finance and other wealth-creating resources.

Emergency at Gaza's sole maternity hospital

UNFPA takes swift action in response to critical medical shortages in Northern Gaza, with Representative Dominic Allen emphasizing the urgent situation.

UN Podcasts

three smiling women outlined on an orange background

Women as peacebuilders

“Every day a woman's right is abused,” said Riya William Yuyada, who fled South Sudan when she was a baby, but decided to return more than 20 years later to create a women’s movement for peace, Crown the Woman. “When women are part of peace, it is more sustainable.”

Across the world, women and girls are leading the fight for peace and equality. Yet despite their essential role in peacebuilding, women human rights defenders still face challenges when it comes to getting a seat at the tables of power. This episode of the UN Human Rights Podcast explores how women are trying to bring peace to conflicts around the world, with grassroots activist Riya William Yuyada, Laila Alodaat, Deputy Secretary General at the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and Nicole Ameline, former chair of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

 

Latest Audio from UN News

The United Nations in Pictures

Images from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.

A Ukrainian man staring blankly at the Odesa shore.
Photo:UNFPA Moldova/Mihail Calarsan

Two years after Ukraine's war, love continues across borders

Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Svetlana and her family had to leave their home in Odesa and seek refuge in the coastal town of Zatoka. When the bridge across the Dniester Estuary was attacked, they decided that Svetlana had to take the children to Moldova while her husband Ruslan stayed behind due to martial law. They have now been separated for 20 months and share how they maintain their family life and love across the border. Throughout Ukraine and neighboring countries, the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) Safe Spaces provide expert psychosocial support to people coping with the effects of war and displacement.

A girl drinking from a water bucket
Photo:UNICEF/UN0469332/Dejongh

More and more children are at risk from heat stress caused by extreme temperatures

Climate change is causing more frequent and intense heat waves worldwide, which negatively impact the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, particularly children. UNICEF and partners urge governments to take urgent action and ensure that frontline health workers are trained to recognize and treat heat stress, health facilities are equipped to cool heat victims, and healthcare systems are connected to meteorological services in high-heat regions. Additionally, health facilities should have cool public spaces for people to safely seek refuge during heat waves.

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